I had several jobs while I was in college. DJ, coach, camp counselor. But the one I kept going back to was my job as a banquet waiter in Detroit. The money was great. Anything over 4 hrs was overtime. And tips were automatically included. Yes, it was a union job. My mother got myself […]

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Boblo Island Documentary by Caroline Bree Digging Detroit is proud to share a look at former amusement park, Boblo Island, produced by Caroline Bree of Grosse Pointe South High School. The project received an Excellence Award at the 48th Michigan Student Festival at the DIA on April 23, 2016–produced by the non-profit Digital Arts Film […]

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Join Digging Detroit host Pete Kalinski from Royal Oak’s Boo’s Music Bistro inside Mr. B’s Restaurant as he welcomes two of the city’s foremost fans and promoters of Detroit’s legendary blues legacy–President of the Detroit Blues Society, Steve Soviak and Vice President Tom McNab. It’s first meeting in 1985 began a multi-decade of transformations to increase public interest in […]

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Some Arab Americans in metro Detroit trace their family back five generations, to the 1880s–while some have only just arrived. To honor metro-Detroit’s extensive role in offering haven and opportunity to one of the most influential waves of immigrants to the United States, Dearborn was selected as the site for the ten-year old Arab American National Museum. […]

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Like most kids growing up in Suburban Detroit, I was first introduced to Prince by The Electrifying Mojo, the legendary underground DJ on WGPR. I was a card carrying member of the Midnight Funk Association. Mojo had been going on for hours about this 19year-old kid from Minneapolis who was going to take over the […]

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Tune in to our latest podcast, another Archivist’s Roundup as we visit with four archivists and historians about Detroit’s rich and varied Jewish history. The archivists share how they collect and preserve the stories of Detroit’s Jewish community and also how they help connect today’s generation with their heritage. Host: Pete Kalinski Guests: Aimee Ergas -Collections Archivist […]

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In 1904, Henry Ford purchased three acres beside a railroad line off Woodward and moved his new car company from Mack to Piquette Avenue. Join Digging Detroit with special guest Tom Genova and come explore the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, rescued from demolition and transformed into an amazing collection of priceless cars and fascinating […]

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In this first of 2 episodes featuring fascinating women of Michigan history, Digging Detroit host Thomas J. Reed, Jr. is joined by Samantha Lawrence, Sabrina Nelson, Emily B. Corwin and Bailey Sisoy Isgro–each sharing their favorite women of Michigan history–ranging from a supreme court justice, a surgeon, an artist to a brothel-owner.

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Detroit has historically been seen as the last station on the Underground Railroad yet some of its most noted residents including merchants, priests and illustrious names like Brush and Macomb belonged to slaveowners. Digging Detroit meets Prof. Tiya Miles of the University of Michigan and her team of students uncover a history of the colonial city that few remember […]